Je Suis Paris!

I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to write anything today. However, I simply wish to say my piece and to show my respect.

Today is a sad day. On Friday 13th of November, a group of terrorists carried out horrific acts of violence, taking the lives of over 100 innocent people. I won’t write the details as they can be found on all news media outlets.

I may not visit Paris as often as a lot of my friends, however it has and always will hold a very special place in my heart. A heart which is now breaking seeing what the city, and indeed the country, are being forced to go through.

I will never fully understand these senseless acts of violence. I will never understand how these extremists can believe that by murdering innocent civilians, they will get what they want. I do not like how acts like this can tarnish an entire race or religion with the same horrific brush. I will never understood how some believe it to be acceptable for them to try and play God and take the life of someone else into their own hands.

The amount of shock, prayers, condolences and absolute disgust I have seen across the majority of social media platforms just goes to show how many people in this world still have compassion. It is awful that something on this scale is what it takes to realise we need to remain united. We need to stand strong, together, not argue amongst each other or point the finger at innocent people. You want someone to blame? Blame the individuals involved. Be angry at them. Not the innocents.

The country was placed under a state of emergency. Borders were closed. Curfews were placed. Businesses were closed. Disneyland Paris closed for only the second time since it opened in 1992. Cast Members have done a fantastic job entertaining the guests in their hotels, remaining calm and professional, spreading the Disney Magic even in the midst of all this terror.

The world showed their support by lighting key monuments in red, white and blue. Below is San Francisco, Wembley, New York and Rio de Janeiro.

Facebook offered the option for you to change your profile picture to show your support for France. I changed mine.

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I am still rather speechless over these attacks. Without heading in a political direction, I thought focussing on the together-ness of the community and the support that people are showing towards Paris and France was a better way to look at this horrific series of events.

I apologise if parts of this blog seem disjointed. It’s been hard to put words together. All of my thoughts go out to everyone in Paris and everyone affected by the tragedy.